Senior Member

341 posts, Oct 2001

posted 05-07-2002 12:03 AM            

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Please do not consider me guilty by association or one-time occupation. Yes my REAL father was/is a pilot of all sorts. Growing up we were always exposed to aircraft and even some "Vettes" in the garage that we were not to know about. Was many years till I realized while as a child of 6, why we couldn't go in our own garage!
I always wondered too, where did all the Vettes go? Turns out it was Mexico! Anyway back to planes, Dad had lots. He was co-owner of a small airstrip with five or six of his own planes. On weekends we, my brothers and I, were always flying. It was the Bitchest thing in the world to me. All that changed as time went on but flying and aircraft have always been a favorite. Anyway, in 1972 my brothers and I got the chance to see Dad again and spend the summer flagging for his cropdusters. An experience you would have to endure and grow to love to get the real picture. My Dad had some knack for getting college-age girls to do this type of work and it's not easy, the hours suck and the poisons are deadly! Man the old man was COOL! Well the summer drug on and everyone got their taste of poisoning from the job. It's awful. Even Dad fell ill but work got done. At 12, I was driving 1600 gallon tank trucks of poisons for dispersal throughout southern Ariz.

Dad's Grumman Ag-Cat, one mean machine. 10 cylinders of radial engine pumping over 650 horses! And for the payload? 500 gallon "hopper" feeding piping with spray nozzles along the lower wing. This is one bad old plane and it takes guts to run up and jump on the wing with fuel hose in hand to fill the tank in upper wing while the old man shouted orders for the next load, engine running and deafening to the ears!

Well summer ended and so did the fun. Best memory was driving the VW my brothers and I built and running over the bloated bullfrogs on the airstrip that had gotten into the "empty" drums of condensed poisons ever present in the dump. Man did they go POP!
Just wanted to admit my past and move along from here. God Bless All!

[Edited 11 times, lastly by PHANTOM911 on 06-18-2002]

speak softly and...

Spokane, WA 99204
52 posts, Sep 2001